Brad Thomas is an English author of Horror, Thriller books and short stories. He is also writing his grandmother’s life story. From a young age, all he wanted to do was become an author. Growing up in Tipton, West Midlands, England, he never thought it would be possible, but he never stopped chasing his dream.
You can find out more about Brad’s books and work on his social media: Facebook / Instagram
IT HAPPENED AGAIN
by
Brad Thomas
No one believed me, and then it happened again. The doctor had put it down to night terrors, but I knew it was far worse than that. My girlfriend had left me due to my problem; I was now living alone, I felt very much alone. I decided to get a second opinion from another doctor, she said it was Sleep paralysis…Sleep paralysis? What the hell is that? They told me it was all in my head, that I was self-harming in my sleep, it was so much worse than that and by the time they believed me, it would be too late.
***
I was becoming a shell of my normal self, friends and work colleagues were noticing, but like I said…no one believed me, and then it happened again. I had become very timid, nervous and found it hard to keep eye contact when talking with someone. I left work that Friday evening heading home on the Staten Island ferry, to my lonely, empty apartment in Clifton. The thought of getting home to relax was the best feeling of the weekend, but getting in bed and going to sleep was a whole different matter. I dreaded it, it wasn’t every night, but when it happened it was bone chilling. I took a shower, ate my food and then settled down for the night to read a book. Reading my book seemed the only thing that helped me relax; it was an escape from reality.
***
I began feeling tired around 10pm, it was time to call it a night. That feeling of fear and dread crept up on me as I headed to the bathroom. I look at my reflection in the mirror and it finally dawned on me how much weight I had lost, my brown hair was messy and beginning to curl, my blue eyes were unrecognisable and looked glazed over. I brushed my teeth then took one last look in the mirror, then headed to bed. I got in my bed pulling the sheets over me, in doing so the smell of my ex’s perfume hit me, she’d left me two weeks prior, and I had yet to change the bed sheets, it was the only comfort I got, I felt like she was still next to me. I just lay there hoping to fall asleep and hoped that it wouldn’t happen tonight, then it happened again. I was laying there in the dark with only the moonlight to light up my room, the sombre shadows that it cast around my room were so eerie, then one moved. To my right a shadow had begun to move towards my bed, I began to panic, I attempted to sit up, but I couldn’t move. I was frozen to the spot where I lay in my bed as the shadow reached the side of my bed, then it happened again. The shadow or creature of the night, whatever it was, it took a swipe at me scratching my right arm. Please sit up Mike, do something, just move. I thought to myself. This thing just stood there staring at me, it was human shaped and then it seemed to smile at me, then swiped again clawing my face. Next thing I knew I sprang up in bed, breathing heavily and dripping in sweat, I reached for my bedside lamp straight away. As I turned it on the first thing, I did was scour the room to see if anything or anyone was there, apart from myself…my room was empty. I then looked at my right arm seeing four long scratch marks all down my forearm, then I remembered my face. I leapt out of bed and ran to the bathroom; my right cheek was covered in blood with four scratch marks on there too. I dropped to the floor and lay there crying in a foetal position, I needed help so bad now, but no one believed me.
***
I woke up on the bathroom floor, I didn’t even feel tired after dropping to the floor, just scared, but I must have cried myself to sleep. Why was this happening to me? Luckily it didn’t happen as I slept on the bathroom floor. I stood up from the bathroom floor and walked into my bedroom picking up my notebook, I wrote this exact letter that you’re reading now. I can’t take no more, I’m ending it right now, maybe now you will believe me.
THE END